Schmidt & Heinzmann’s cutting and stacking solution awarded

The Landesagentur für Leichtbau (State Agengy for Lighweight Design) Baden-Würt-temberg honors an innovation with the coveted award every month. In thus it offers a platform for innovative products and services in the field of lightweight design from Baden-Württemberg.

Cost efficiency due to flexible production cell

The cell, which consists of several cutting tables, one robot with a gripper module and a scales and a conveyor belt, cuts textiles from glass, carbon or natural fibers and stacks them into precise stacks. Afterwards the stack is transferred to the next process step for further processing – usually a press for the RTM process. “This process steps are still carried out manually in many companies”, explains Dr. Bücheler, Director Pro-cess Engineering “Our systems does this in a cycle-optimized manner and, thanks to its generic approach, can even produce different stacks at the same time.”

Optimal use of material

Intelligent nesting creates the optimum cutting plan for the cuts to be produced. This allows efficient use of the material, which significantly reduces material waste.

When using several materials within a stack, Schmidt & Heinzmann relies on its Multi-ple Cutter Concept. True to the motto „one cutter one material“, this concept defines exactly which material is cut on which cutter. This shortens cycle time and increases process reliability, which ensures consistently good quality. To attain precise cutting edges, the cutting technology (polygon knife, round knife, ultrasonic knife) that per-fectly fits the material is selected.

Until now, the layers of different materials were either cut one after the other on the same cutting table, or they were placed on top of each other in the correct sequence and cut together. Both variants lead to inaccuracies during cutting and high material waste. 2

Perfect component quality due to high degree of automation

A highlight of the cell is the control system developed by Schmidt & Heinzmann. An algorithm determines the optimal sequences for the pro-duction process. This can not only be designed to optimize the cycle time, but also, for example, to optimize material utilization. Cutting, stacking and handling are perma-nently monitored by the integrated production planner and adjusted according to the defined parameters. The intelligent assistant also keeps an eye on the times for nesting or the remaining supply of fiber fabric.

Competitive lightweight components for all industries

The manufacturing costs for lightweight components can be significantly reduced by using the cutting & stacking system. Compared to semi-automatic production, up to 75% of personnel costs can be saved. In addition, resources are conserved by opti-mal material utilization and the costs for the use of materials are reduced considera-bly.

Due to cost efficiency, the flexibility and scalability of the system as well as high-preci-sion manufacturing results, everyone benefits from the use of the system – from large scale manufacturers in the automotive industry to sports goods manufacturers with medium quantities up to suppliers in the aerospace sector with smaller quantities.

Second innovation award for Schmidt & Heinmann in 2021

“We are delighted that we have already received the second award for innovations with the ThinKing Award this year,” says CEO Matthias Feil. In the first half of 2021, the company was among the finalists at the JEC Award with its innovative SMC semi-finished product line “Cube” and received the “Top 100 Innovation” award.